Author
Topic: How is skin waterproof? (Read 14250 times)

Hi I'm Tiara Francis from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, WI one of the many Caribbean Islands.

My question is about the human skin; What about this organ causes it to be waterproof when the person is alive and easily 'water retaining' if the person is dead and found in a body of water over a period of time?

The outer layer of skin (epidermis) contains a tough, water resistant protein called keratin. As well as a greasy sebum, secreted by sebaceous glands, has an anti-microbial effect, as does the wax secreted by the skin lining the outer ear cavity.

Hi I'm Tiara Francis from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, WI one of the many Caribbean Islands.

My question is about the human skin; What about this organ causes it to be waterproof when the person is alive and easily 'water retaining' if the person is dead and found in a body of water over a period of time?

What do you think?

I do know what you mean about a dead body! They do tend to puff up and become very water logged when dead and soaking in water.. I wonder if this has to do with the body no longer being able to breath and excrete from the pours etc.. I would think it would become much more porous if the skin was no longer breathing also.. as That was a way of eliminating excess fluids also.. tears.. urine sweat etc no longer have a exit so I am sure that would add to the bloating in the water not to mention natural absorption would seem like it would have no alternative as water would then be soaking into the skin and the body also filled form other orifices also so it would become more like a sponge of rotting flesh..I am no expert but I wonder if that holds true here? Maybe someone with some good knowledge will respond!

The ability of the skin to allow water into it when the person is dead; and the ability of the skin to Prevent water from entering into it when a person is eg. having a bathe in the tub. The most that happens to this person who takes a long bathe in a tub is that their phalanges become all wrinkly. So what mechanism is turned off when this person dies that changes the properties of the skin.

You're on a cruise then suddenly have a heart attack. No one notices, and you die. Shortly after, your body rolls off the side of the deck and falls into the sea. Luckily for you, sharks don't eat up your body and the waves carry you to a nearby island where people then see a balloon of a corpse instead.

But to answer the question, the skin doesn't lose it's water-proof qualities when you die. In fact, it retains it. The reason bodies bloat (regardless of whether the bodies were in the water or not) is due to a process known as putrefaction. This happens when the digestive enzymes inside your body 'go out of control' and eat away from the inside, producing gases such as methane and carbon dioxide that build up.

If you keep your hands in water long enough, you'll notice that they 'prune up'. In this state, skin is much weaker and tends to be cut up more easily. Now, being a dead corpse it would have been there for quite a long time and we can expect the skin to be much weaker so it would tear much more easily when someone pokes the corpse. Think of it as a weak balloon filled up to it's maximum capacity.

Hmmm very interesting...If you can please talk a little bit more about putrefaction and its effect on skin.

I'm not too sure, actually. You'll want to find a forensic scientist but essentially, I think the idea is that after your skin is stretched, since it's dead it's not exactly taut anymore so when the gas escapes and the body deflates the skin is separate already. The water must help it dis-integrate from whatever flesh is left.

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